On Washington visit, Mongolia's PM says will expand cooperation with the US on rare earths

Mongolia's Prime Minister L. Oyun-Erdene said during a visit to Washington that the nation and the US will expand their collaboration to mine rare earths.

However, he cautioned that the world economy would suffer from a "new Cold War" between the United States and China.

Large copper and rare earth reserves are found in Mongolia, and these resources are necessary for high-tech items like defense equipment and President Joe Biden's efforts to electrify the automobile industry in an attempt to stop climate change.

Following his meeting with Vice President Kamala Harris on Wednesday, Oyun-Erdene spoke to reporters and announced his intention to sign an "Open Skies" civil aviation agreement along with commitments to further economic cooperation.

Oyun-Erdene revealed, through a translator, that they had talked about possibly working together to mine copper and other important minerals, such as rare earths.

The U.S. State Department and Mongolia's ministry of mining and heavy industry signed a memorandum of understanding in June that would strengthen their cooperation on rare earths and essential minerals. He described the United States as an "important strategic third neighbor" of Mongolia.

Nations like his own, which is surrounded by China and Russia, could very well suffer if superpower competition broke out, Oyun-Erdene warned. Both Mongolia and China, which is in charge of the vast bulk of the world's rare earth deposits, desire positive relations.

Oyun-Erdene claimed that his nation was in discussions with Tesla CEO Elon Musk about potential investments and collaboration in the fields of electric vehicles and space travel, but he would not be meeting the tech billionaire during this visit.

The date of the separate trip, for which the Mongolian leader did not specify a specific time, would allow him to meet Musk and other influential figures in the tech sector.